15 of Africa's favorite dishes | CNN Travel 15 of Africa's favorite dishes 15 of Africa's favorite dishes From Morocco's b'stilla to South Africa's bunny chow, don't leave Africa without sampling at least a few of these exquisite foods By Jane-Anne Hobbs 13 November, 2012 The taste of Africa on a plate. Given that the first "barbecue" might well have taken place in Africa, this is a continent that can arguably claim to have invented cooking . But African dishes -- especially those south of the Sahara -- are still woefully under-represented on the world culinary scene. From the humble maize/grain porridges and root vegetables that form the basis of so many diets, to grand feasting dishes such as breyanis, tagines, stews and aromatic curries, Africa’s favorite foods offer something for every palate. This article focuses on regional dishes that you might enjoy in the some of the more popular tourist destinations. 1. Pap en vleis/Shisa nyama, South Africa The colors of a feast.

Barbecued meat and maize porridge is a combination dearly beloved across many cultures in Southern Africa, and particularly in South Africa, where the braaivleis is a treasured institution and practically a national sport. "Pap en vleis" (literally, "maize porridge and meat") is a colorful umbrella of a term that encompasses virtually any combination of starch and braaied or stewed meat, with an obligatory side-serving of spicy gravy, relish or chakalaka. Shisa nyama , meaning "burn the meat" in Zulu, has come to refer to a festive "bring-and-braai" gathering; Shisa nyama restaurants are often located next to butchers’ shops so patrons can select their own meats and have them cooked to order over fiercely hot wood fires. Chops, steak, chicken, kebabs and boerewors -- a spicy farmer’s sausage -- are accompanied by maize porridges in many different forms including phuthu and stywe pap, krummelpap (crumbly porridge), and suurpap (soured pap). Add a local beer, and there you have South Africa on a plate.

Where to taste it: Popular Shisa nyama-style eateries include Chaf Pozi , Orlando Towers, Corner Kingsley Sithole and Nicholas streets, Soweto; +27 11 463 8895; and Mzoli’s , Shop 3, NY115, Gugulethu, Cape Town; +27 21 638 1355> 2. Piri piri chicken, Mozambique Stop. Do not lick the screen. Mozambique’s cuisine is a heady blend of African, Portuguese, oriental and Arab flavors -- think fragrant spices, hot piri piri and creamy coconut sauces, with hints of cashews and peanuts. Sizzling, spicy prawns and seafood are often a first choice for visitors to Maputo, but don’t miss the iconic Mozambican dish Galinha à Zambeziana, a succulent feast of chicken cooked with lime, pepper, garlic, coconut milk and piri piri sauce. It’s generally known simply as grilled chicken piri piri by tourists, and is traditionally served with matapa, a dish of cassava leaves cooked in a peanut sauce.

Where to taste it: Head downtown to the aptly named Piri Piri, an unpretentious eatery with a charming atmosphere and an interesting crowd. Avenida 24 de Julho, Maputo 3. Jollof rice and egusi soup, Nigeria Simple but exquisite. It’s not easy pinning down a national favorite dish for Nigeria, because this is a vast country with many distinct regional cuisines. But one dish you shouldn’t leave Nigeria without eating is jollof rice , a great favorite all over West Africa, and one that is thought may be the origin of the Cajun dish jambalaya. A simple, spicy one-pot dish comprising, at its most basic, rice, tomatoes, onions and pepper, it’s often served at parties and other festive gatherings, along with other Nigerian favorites such as egusi soup (made with ground melon seeds and bitter leaf), fried plantains and pounded yam (iyan or fufu). Other dishes to try in Nigeria include thick, spicy broths made with okra and flavored with chicken or meat, and suya, which are spicy Nigerian shish kebabs (similar to Ghana’s chichinga) cooked over braziers by street vendors.

Where to taste it: For authentic jollof rice, egusi soup and other traditional dishes, locals recommend Yellow Chili , 27 Oju Olobun Close, off Bishop Oluwole Street, Lagos; +234 1 723 2666. For excellent suya, the place to go is University of Suya, Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos 4. Bunny chow, South Africa Makes those Pret A Manger sarnies look somewhat inadequate, doesn't it? No one’s quite sure how bunny chow came to be named, but what is certain is that this hollowed-out half- or quarter-loaf of white bread filled with a blistering-hot curry is one of South Africa’s most treasured street foods. The meat and vegetable curries that fill bunny chows were bought to South Africa by Indian indentured laborers who came to South Africa in the 19th century to work on the sugar-cane fields. Available as takeaways in all major cities, but the best bunnies come from Durban.

Where to taste it: Durbanites agree that the finest bunnies are to be found at the Britannia Hotel , 1299 Umgeni Road, Durban; +27 31 303 2266; and Gounden’s Restaurant , 39 Eaton Road, Umbilo, Durban; +27 31 205 5363 5. Kapenta with sadza, Zimbabwe Finger food, Zimbabwe style. A heap of crisp-fried kapenta is the culinary highlight for many visitors to Zimbabwe. Kapenta, comprising two species of small freshwater fish native to Lake Tanganyika, were introduced to Lake Kariba and now are a much-loved source of protein for lakeside populations of Zambia and Zimbabwe. Like many African dishes, kapenta is often accompanied by a mountain of delicious maize porridge, known in Zimbabwe as sadza . Kapenta is available both dried and fresh, and is also stewed with tomatoes, onions and groundnut powder, and served with fresh greens.

Don’t pick up a knife and fork to devour your kapenta: the traditional way to eat this dish is to scoop up the sadza with your hand and to dip it or roll it in the accompanying fish and relishes. Another must-try dish when visiting Zimbabwe is fresh bream or tilapia from Lake Kariba, grilled or fried with plenty of lemon butter. Where to taste it: You’ll find kapenta sold as a street food in many places in Zimbabwe and Zambia, and also in more upscale restaurants such as The Boma , Victoria Falls Town, Victoria Falls; +263 13 43211 20. For fresh Kariba tilapia and bream, try La Fontaine Restaurant at Meikles Hotel , Jason Moyo Avenue, Harare; +263 4 251 705 6. Chambo with nsima, Malawi The eyes of Malawians away from home may well fill with tears when you say the word "chambo" to them -- it's the most popular and best-known fish found in Lake Malawi, and a great national favorite.

It’s served grilled along the lake shore, usually with nsima (a stiff porridge very similar to South Africa’s pap and Zimbabwe’s sadza) or with chips. A plate of chambo is not complete without ndiwo, a delicious relish made of pumpkin or cassava leaves, tomatoes and groundnut powder. Both nsima and ndiwo are revered staple foods in neighboring Zambia, along with Ifisashi, a dish of greens in a peanut sauce. Where to taste it: Nkope restaurant, Sunbird Livingstonia Beach , Senga Bay, Salima; +265 1 773 388 and La Mirage at Sun 'n' Sand Holiday Resort , Mangochi; +265 1 594 545 7. Namibian venison, Namibia The kebab -- how to make any food look great. Good venison can be sampled all over Southern Africa, but Namibians will insist that the very best gemsbok, kudu, zebra, warthog, ostrich and springbok is to be found at restaurants and game lodges across their country.

Namibian cuisine shows strong German and South African influences, with traditional German delicacies such as sausages, cured meats, sauerkraut and Eisbein rubbing shoulders with South-African style potjiekos, biltong and braaivleis. Try your venison with traditional staples oshifima (maize porridge) or mahangu (pearl millet) and, of course, a hearty tankard or two of fine Namibian beer. Where to taste it: Tuck into traditional German and Namibian favorites at popular Windhoek institution Joe’s Beer House , 160 Nelson Mandela Ave., Windhoek; +264 61 232 457; or Swakopmund Brauhaus , The Arcade 22, Sam Nujoma Drive, Swakopmund; +264 64 402 214 8. Muamba de Galinha, Angola A dish you'll want to return for. This dish, like the popular Caldeirada de Peixe (fish stew) reveals the strong influence of Portuguese cuisine on this former colony, and is considered one of Angola’s national food treasures.

Also known as chicken muamba , this is a spicy, somewhat oily stew made with with palm oil or palm butter, garlic, chilis and okra. Variations of chicken muamba, such as poulet moambé, are to be found all over the Congo River region, where it’s often served with cassava leaves and white rice. Another variation, nyembwe chicken, is the national dish of Gabon, where it is made with palm or macadamia nuts. Being so rich and spicy, chicken muamba is a good accompaniment to central African starchy porridges considered bland by western palates: funge, fufu and ugali. Caldeirade de Cabrito is another of Angola’s favorite dishes; this goat or kid stew is cooked with potatoes, wine and tomatoes and often eaten to celebrate Independence Day on November 11. Where to taste it: Visitors to Angola usually make a bee-line for the buzzing beach restaurants on Ilha de Luanda , a small island just off Luanda. As with many Central African destinations, please check your country’s travel advisories before you depart 9.

Cape breyani, South Africa A treasured classic of Cape Malay cuisine, breyani is a fragrant dish comprising layers of marinated meat, rice, lentils and spices topped with crisp-fried onions and hard-boiled eggs. This one-pot, slow-cooked dish, a favorite for feeding large crowds at special occasions and celebrations, was bought to the Cape from the East during the earliest days of the slave trade , along with other "Malay" dishes such as bredies, pickled fish, denningvleis and bobotie. Where to taste it: Biesmiellah restaurant, situated in the historic Malay Quarter. Corner Wale Street and Pentz Road, Bo-Kaap, Cape Town; +27 21 423 0850 10. Zanzibari biryanis and pilaus, Zanzibar Indian origin, African adaptation. You can practically feel the warm breath of the trade winds in your face as you taste these great celebration dishes, both based on rice and the exotic array of spices synonymous with Zanzibar.

There are all sorts of variations on biryani , ranging from humble vegetable assemblages to more complex ones incorporating meat and seafood; pilau tends to be a one-pot dish generously spiced with cardamom, cumin and pepper. Both are delicious accompanied by kachumbari, a fresh onion and tomato salad popular across East Africa. Another quintessential dish of Zanzibar is urojo, a yellowish broth bought from street vendors and made with many different ingredients including pieces of meat, chili, mango, ginger, tamarind and lime. Where to taste it: For a taste of authentic Zanzibari cooking, try Forodhani Gardens (a street food market) in Stone Town, and for its excellent Swahili buffet, Lukmaan Restaurant , Mkunazini, Stone Town. Popular restaurants in Stone Town include Archipelago (+255 77 746 2311) and Monsoon 11. Nyama na irio, Kenya Ask any Kenyan about a favorite comfort food and chances are he or she will exclaim "Irio!" without hesitation.

This well-loved dish, originally a Kikuyu staple that has spread through Kenya, is made of mashed-up potatoes, peas, beans, corn and onion and often served with spiced roasted meat to make a delicious dish called nyama na irio. Kenya is famous for its long-distance runners, and many a Kenyan will attribute their stamina to the health-giving effects of another treasured staple, sukuma wiki. This means "push for the week" in Swahili, indicating that this dish can be used to feed the family for a week. Sukuma wiki is made with collard greens and/or kale cooked with onions and spices to make a piquant relish for ugali (maize porridge). Where to taste it: Ranalo Foods in Kimathi Street, Nairobi, is where locals go to feast on irio and other traditional dishes. For a mighty feast of exotic roasted meats, visit the world-famous Carnivore Restaurant , Langata Road, Near Wilson Airport, Nairobi; +254 20 600 5933 12. Koshari, Egypt Don't judge a dish by its color.

If you want a taste of what ordinary Egyptian families eat at home, you can’t go wrong with koshari (variously spelled koushari and koshary), a nourishing vegetarian dish of rice, lentils, macaroni, garlic and chickpeas, bought together by a spicy tomato sauce and topped off with fried onion. A good koshari can send an Egyptian into raptures, and it’s also hugely popular as a rib-sticking street food and take-away. Another beloved classic of home cooking is mahshi, or vegetables such as zucchini, peppers, tomatoes and vine leaves stuffed with spiced rice. Where to taste it: For koshari and other traditional Egyptian foods, locals unhesitatingly recommend Koshari al-Tahrir , Sharia Abd el-Khalik Sarwat, Cairo. For mahshi, try the grill restaurant Hosny , 30 Saffar Pasha St., Bahari, Alexandria; +20 3 481 2350 13. Ful medames, Egypt The old ones are often the good ones.

According to Egyptian-born cookery writer Claudia Roden, this dish is pre-Ottoman and pre-Islamic, and probably as old as the Pharoahs. In her classic work "A Book of Middle Eastern Food," Roden quotes an Arab saying: “Beans have satisfied even the Pharoahs.” They’re still satisfying Egyptians today. Ful Medames is one of the country’s national dishes, comprising fava beans simmered with spices and olive oil. The dried beans are often cooked overnight and served for in the morning with eggs and pita bread. It’s ideal for a filling breakfast if you’re traveling on a tight budget and need to fill up with sustaining food to last you through the day. Where to taste it: At street stalls and restaurants all over Egypt, with a special recommendation for Mohamed Ahmed Restaurant , 17 Shokour St., Off Saad Zaghloul Street, Alexandria; +20 3 487 3576 14. Potjiekos and stew, South Africa Big, brash, boiling bowl of goodness.

What constitutes an excellent potjie is a matter of heated debate among fans, who have all the time in the world to argue the merits of their version during the several hours it takes for the food to cook. Potjiekos ("pot food") is an Afrikaans term for food cooked in layers in a traditional three-legged cast-iron pot, but in essence it’s a stew, not much different to the slow-simmered stews of beef, chicken and mutton and that are popular across Southern African countries. If you’re adventurous, try a curry made of a sheep's heads (known as "smileys" for the baleful grins the heads adopt after they shrink in the heat) or a stew of chicken feet (called "runaways" or "walkie-talkies"). Stews are traditionally served with pap (see above) and other staples such as umngqusho (samp and beans), morogo (wild greens), dumplings (amadombolo) and steamed bread (ujeqe) or pot-baked bread (potbrood). Where to taste it: For tripe stew and other traditional favorites, try U.S.

film star Danny Glover's favorite restaurant Gramadoelas , Market Theatre, Breë Street, Newtown, Johannesburg; +27 82 880 5555; or Roots Restaurant , Makhetha Shopping Centre, Corner Mphuti and Dimakatso streets, Central Western Jabavu, Soweto; +27 72 536 8777 15. Pastilla au pigeon/b’stilla, Morocco Moroccan food on the go. Moroccan tagines and couscous dishes have earned their glory on the world’s culinary stage in recent decades, but this is one dish you’ll not find in an average cookbook. A complex and many-faceted feast dish, pastilla au pigeou (also known as b’stilla ) is sweet and savory; substantial and delicate. It's a pie comprising shredded cooked squab (or, more often, chicken, when pigeon is hard to find) thickened with egg sauce and interspersed with paper-thin pastry and layers of nutty, spicy filling. No grand celebration in Morocco would be considered complete without b’stilla, and it is usually reserved for feasts because it’s so labor intensive to make.

Where to taste it: Pastilla au pigeon can be found on menus throughout Morocco, but for an unforgettable gastronomic experience, there is no better place to try it than Pepe Nero 17 Derb Cherkaoui, Rue Douar Graoua, Marrakech; +212 524 389067 What is the new name of south west Africa? Information of the world What is the new name of south west Africa? Home » Arts » General Knowledge » What is the new name of south west Africa? South west Africa is now known as Namibia. Namibia HISTORY OF NAMIBIA HISTORY OF NAMIBIA Enjoy the Famous Daily German South West Africa: 1884-1915 The German seizure of Angra Pequena in 1884 is one of the first incidents in the European scramble for Africa . The resulting colony becomes known as South West Africa. Over the next hundred years the tribes living here, inland from the arid coastal strip of the Namib desert, suffer some of the harshest experiences of modern colonial history - at the hands first of the Germans and subsequently of South Africa. The early years of the German presence are relatively calm.

Only about 2000 traders and farmers are in the region by 1896, and their relations with the dominant local tribe, the Herero, are for the most part peaceful. But in 1897 a natural disaster gives the settlers an unexpected advantage. In 1897 South West Africa is reached by a previously unknown cattle plague, the rinderpest. Deriving originally from an outbreak in 1889 in distant Somaliland, the plague is not carried across the Zambezi until 1896. Now it devastates the flocks of the Herero, exclusively a cattle-raising people. In desperation they sell for very little, to the German settlers, much of their pasture and half their surviving cattle. The catastrophe seems to have benefited the Europeans. But it prompts the Herero to attempt, in 1904, a desperate uprising against the German intruders. During a few days, in January 1904, Herero warriors kill every German they can find whom they consider capable of carrying arms. Methodically they spare women and children, German missionaries and Europeans of other nationalities. The total number of German deaths is not much above 100.

But the event is brutal and terrifying. It prompts over-reaction in Berlin, where the emperor William II selects for the task of reprisal an officer known for his severity, General Lothar von Trotha. Von Trotha is sent out to Africa with instructions to put down the uprising 'by fair means or foul'. He selects the foulest imaginable. During the summer of 1904 inconclusive warfare continues between the Herero and the German forces already in the region. By the time von Trotha is ready for action with his reinforcements, in August, the main body of the Herero are grouped on the Waterberg plateau, adjacent to an extension of the Kalahari desert. Von Trotha surrounds them with his German detachments, leaving only one exit from the circle - in the direction of the desert. When the tribesmen have fled into the desert, von Trotha places a line of German guard posts to prevent their return. With no water, in oven-like temperatures, some 8000 men perish together with their women, children and remaining cattle. Von Trotha follows this action with a Vernichtungsbefehl ('extermination order') issued in October.

It announces that any Herero found living within the borders of the German territory will be shot. His proclamation makes chilling reading, as an Unusually blunt statement of the concept of 'ethnic cleansing'. It is the century's first example of its most shameful characteristic, genocide. News of von Trotha's action profoundly shocks Germany and the rest of Europe. Berlin countermands the extermination order. In 1905 von Trotha is removed from his command and recalled home. Nevertheless the emperor decorates him on his return, for devotion to the fatherland. Meanwhile the region's other main tribe, the Nama, have risen in support of their traditional enemies, the Herero. They make many successful guerrilla raids on the German forces, now reinforced to the level of about 15,000 men. But eventually most of the Nama and the surviving Herero are rounded up and sent to work in labour camps on the railways. For many of them this proves to be a death sentence.

A census in 1911 reveals that the Nama have halved in number during the previous decade (from 20,000 to 9,800), while the Herero have been reduced by 80% (from 80,000 to 15,000). There will be little regret among the indigenous people of South West Africa when a European war brings a change of colonial master. South Africa and South West Africa: 1915-1988 When World War I breaks out, the newly independent dominion of South Africa rallies to the British cause. The only German target in the immediate region is South West Africa. In February 1915 the South African president, Louis Botha, leads an invasion in person. In July the German forces in the colony surrender. At the end of the war the League of Nations places South West Africa under a British mandate, with the administration of the territory entrusted to the government of South Africa . There thus begins the gradual process by which South West Africa becomes more and more closely integrated with its larger neighbour, until it is in many ways regarded as the fifth province of the Union.

The region's prosperity increases after World War II, largely thanks to a buoyant market for diamonds and beef, but the wealth accrues almost exclusively to the white settler population in the southern part of the protectorate. Meanwhile the distress of the black population is aggravated by the introduction of South Africa's apartheid laws after 1948. From the late 1940s there is a lengthy clash of will between South Africa and the United Nations. Black leaders in South West Africa petition the UN against South African rule. South Africa disputes the authority of the UN in this matter. The issue is argued at length before the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Eventually, in 1967, the UN asserts its sovereignty and campaigns actively for the liberation of the region - which it begins to refer to by a more acceptable local name, Namibia. There is by now a local organization working actively towards the same end, that of independence. Within the Ovambo tribe, whose territory straddles the border between South West Africa and Angola, there is founded in 1958 the Ovamboland People's Organization.

In 1960 it claims a wider remit as SWAPO (South West Africa People's Organization.) SWAPO soon becomes the main political force in the province, launching a guerrilla campaign against the South African administration. In the 1980s the campaign to suppress SWAPO escalates into a debilitating war, carried far north into Angola , which drains the energies of a South African government already beset by increasing internal unrest. Some 2500 South African soldiers die in the conflict, which costs $1 billion a year to sustain. In 1988 the South African effort collapses. A cease-fire is agreed, providing for the simultaneous withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola and of South African forces from South West Africa. The government in Pretoria now finally gives up its policy of stalling on Namibia's independence. It agrees that the UN will supervise the provision of a new constitution and the holding of elections. Indpendence: from1990 In the elections held in 1989 SWAPO wins 57% of the vote. The party's leader, Sam Nujoma, becomes president of Namibia (which formally gains independence in March 1990).

Nujoma pursues a policy of reconciliation, both with the white settlers (many of whom remain in their government jobs) and with the government of South Africa. Although accused by opponents of favouring the interests of the Ovambo tribe, SWAPO continues to win subsequent elections during the 1990s. Nujoma is re-elected as president for a second term in 1994. As with many African nations, the most severe crisis of the 1990s is AIDS. By the end of the decade some 10% of the population is HIV-positive. Namibia | South African History Online South African History Online View full archive Namibia, a former German colony, is situated towards the north west of South Africa. The Orange River marks the border between the two countries. The country is about 800 000 square kilometers big and borders on Angola to the north and Botswana in the east. The Caprivi Strip, which stretches off its northern edge, extends between Botswana and Zambia. The first European that landed in Namibia was the Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão, who came ashore north of Swakopmund at Cape Cross in 1484.

Parts of Namibia are notoriously dry and much of the country is made up of the Namib Desert and the Kalahari. Towards the north the country becomes greener with the Etosha Pan filling with water from northern rivers. This area is rich in diverse wildlife. The Skeleton Coast marks the area where the Namib meets the Atlantic Ocean and is littered with wrecks of ships that ran ashore in the treacherous waters, whalebone shelters used by the San and ghost towns that boomed during the early diamond days. Due to its harsh environment Namibia is sparsely populated with various different groups. Its population is made up of San, Damaras, Ovambos, Namas, Hereros, Oorlams, Kavangos, East Caprivians, Rehoboth Basters, Kaokovelders, Tswanas and European settlers, mostly German. The country is rich in natural resources and its main mineral products are copper, diamonds, gold, lead and uranium. The South African and Portuguese governments jointly developed the Kunene hydroelectric scheme in 1969.

Fishing is also a prominent industry in Namibia, but exploitation of the rich marine resources led to the near extinction of pilchards and anchovies in the 1960s and 70s. Strict controls were put in place and the numbers of fish have steadily increased since then. In 1885 the Chancellor of the German Empire, Bismarck, held a convention in Berlin where European powers divided Africa among themselves. This was called the “Scramble for Africa”. In 1886 the border between Angola and what would become German South West Africa was negotiated between the German and Portuguese nations. In 1890 the first German military fort was built at Windhoek and, in July of the same year, the British government also apportioned the Caprivi Strip to the Germans. This would give Germany access to the Zambezi River and its other East African territories, and it would give up its claims on Zanzibar. The reason Germany selected Namibia as its “protectorate” was influenced by the fact that a tobacco merchant from Bremen, Franz Luderitz, bought up coastal land in the area in 1882.

This resulted in Germany actively establishing itself in the African country by 1884. They occupied Herero lands. Initially the Herero accepted the “treaties of protection”, but the Nama people resisted. In 1888 the Germans confiscated Herero lands and large numbers of their cattle. The aim was to turn South West Africa into a settler colony. In 1890 German soldiers attacked the Nama and by 1892, despite efforts by the Nama and Herero to put up a united front, they were crushed. By the beginning of the twentieth century African resistance become the central theme under local leaders. German forces were still occupied in crushing the 1903 Bondelswarts Uprising and were hard pressed when the Herero rose in revolt in 1904. Once reinforcements arrived with superior guns German troops defeated them. The new German commander-in-chief, General Lothar von Trotha, ordered the extermination of all Herero people. Pursued by German troops they fled into the desert, into northern Ovamboland and into eastern Bechuanaland, or Botswana.

While the German troops were destroying the Herero, the Portuguese launched a new offensive against the northern Ovambo. In 1905 the Nama, who responded a band of guerrilla fighters. After a year of fierce fighting, Witbooi was killed in action but Jacob Marengo continued to lead the Nama resistance for a further two years. In 1907, the death of Marengo brought about the end of the war of resistance. Many of the surviving Nama and Herero were imprisoned or sent to labour camps. All the remaining Herero lands were confiscated and they were forbidden to keep cattle. Thereafter German policy altered to one of forcing the survivors into the workforce in order to develop the colony. When the First World War broke out in 1914 South Africa agreed to participate in an assault on German South West Africa. Some Afrikaner Nationalists in South Africa opposed this. Led by Generals J B M Hertzog and C R de Wet they were against South African participation in the war against Germany and any attack on South West Africa, which they viewed as the colonial territory of a friendly power.

The Union Government, however, had military necessity and economic reasons to incorporate the territory into the Union after the war. These conflicting motives and ideals led to the South African Rebellion. With the suppression of the rebellion General Louis Botha launched South Africa's troops upon the conquest of the German colony and the British navy captured Luderitz Bay in September 1914, cutting off German supplies. South African occupation started in May 1915 when General Louis Botha, first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, ordered 40 000 South African troops into the territory. Heavily outnumbered, the German forces were forced into retreat. The colony surrendered on 9 July 1915, bringing 31 years of German rule to an end. General J C Smuts , a member of the British War Cabinet, put forward the idea of a League of Nations Mandate system for Germany's conquered colonial possessions. He did not intend this to apply to Germany's African colonies because he hoped to see South West Africa incorporated into South Africa.

He was unable to persuade the Peace Conference to approve this and in 1920 he and General Louis Botha very reluctantly agreed that South Africa should administer South West Africa under a Class C Mandate from the League of Nations. The mandate purported to safeguard the rights and interests of the indigenous people. It was also obliged to submit annual reports to the League of Nations Permanent Mandates Commission. The hopes of the inhabitants of South West Africa for redress of grievances when the Union Government took over the territory were soon dashed. During the period 1922 to 1946 the indigenous peoples were allocated from 10,6% to as little as 3,6% of the budget. Even though about 6000 Germans left the country, grazing lands sequestrated by the German colonial government were not restored. Instead, pastoral chiefdoms and communities were dispossessed and almost half the territory was allocated to some 3 000 White settler ranches that were heavily subsidised. Some of these were given to about three hundred Afrikaners, descendants of Voortrekkers who had previously settled in Angola.

Until 1948 the highest authority in the territory was the Administrator of the territory, appointed by the South African Government. Only White settlers were allowed to vote for the Legislative Assembly and local authorities. A resident commissioner and magistrates administered the local inhabitants, issuing directives to chiefs and headmen. Four native commissioners exercised authority in Ovamboland. Black chiefs were treated as government agents who could be replaced or dismissed. Ovamboland was looked on as a labour reserve and very little development was undertaken there. The greater part of the territory outside Ovamboland included White settlements and the mines. The Herero and Nama communities within this zone were allocated reserves. Expenditure on development of the reserves was curtailed in order to pressure the local people into seeking employment on White farms. This would develop contract labour and establish a migrant labour system similar to that of South Africa. One incident in particular served to draw international criticism to South Africa. In 1921 the Union administration became involved in the suppression of the Bondelswarts, who, although living on the borderlines of poverty, managed to retain their economic independence by hunting, using dogs. To break this activity the tax on dogs was levied.

In addition, their leader, Jacobus Christian, was arrested without proper cause. In May 1922 the popular hero Abraham Morris, who had led the Bondelswarts resistance to the Germans in 1903, decided to come home with some armed refugees who had fled to the Union for sanctuary during the German occupation. Morris had served as a guide to the South African invasion forces, and had been given a gun in recognition of his services. The Bondelswarts were ordered to hand him over. Violence broke out when Morris' followers refused to surrender their guns. Although Morris agreed to hand over the guns, a fortnight later the new Administrator-General of South West Africa, G R Hofmeyr, and the Bondelswarts leader, Christian, failed to agree. Hofmeyr ordered a punitive expedition. Smuts tried to restrain Hofmeyr, but failed, and the South African army with bomber support attacked the community, killing some women and children. With this, the Bondelswarts men openly rebelled, but they were soon completely crushed. Thereafter, and throughout the period that led to Second World War, South Africa was subjected to regular criticism by the United Nations Permanent Mandate Commission.

The United Nations (UN) was formed in 1944 and soon afterwards began trying to persuade South Africa to submit the mandate to United Nations trusteeship. Smuts made a determined effort to incorporate South West Africa into the Union of South Africa after the war. In May 1946 the White Legislative Assembly of the territory called for South West Africa's incorporation in South Africa and chiefs and headmen were also persuaded to petition for transfer of the territory to the Union. The South African proposal was opposed by the UN General Assembly, with India, already at loggerheads with South Africa over the treatment of South African Indians, leading the attack. The liberal English clergyman, Reverend Michael Scott, and Dr Xuma , president of the African National Congress (ANC) , provided evidence against South Africa on the grounds of racial discrimination. They had also received reports from the Herero and others that indicated that the local chiefs had misunderstood the petition and that many of them were, in fact, against incorporation in South Africa. Smuts refused to accept that the UN was the legitimate successor to the defunct League of Nations by refusing to register South West Africa as a UN Trusteeship Territory.

Dr D F Malan used Smuts' difficulties with the UN over South West Africa as a tool in his election campaign before 1948. The National Party (NP) intended to incorporate the territory into South Africa unilaterally, and to apply its racial policies in spite of world opinion. After the NP won the South African election of 1948 the new government refused to submit further reports on South West Africa to the UN because the mandate over South West Africa had lapsed, but they stopped short of open defiance of UN authority. In 1949, without incorporating the territory, the Nationalists ingeniously increased their majority in the South African Parliament by creating six new seats for the White population of South West Africa in the Lower House and four in the Senate. In this way it brought about effective rule over South West Africa as a fifth province, without UN recognition. The UN challenged South Africa's actions in the International Court of Justice. The next year the Court of Justice gave an advisory opinion that South Africa's mandate to administer the territory should remain in force, but that as the UN was the League of Nations' successor, South Africa must still report to it. South Africa rejected the court's ruling and in 1954.

South West African “Native Affairs” were placed under the direct control of Pretoria. Although it had withdrawn from the Trusteeship Committee, South Africa was persuaded to rejoin in 1957 for negotiations with Charles Arden-Clarke, the UN negotiator. When these failed, the period of resolutions condemning South Africa's policies began. In 1959 riots broke out in Windhoek over the extension of urban apartheid to South West Africa, and the forced removal and resettlement of people from locations near Windhoek to one remote from the city. In November of that year the UN Assembly noted that South Africa was administering the territory in a manner contrary to the mandate, the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the advisory opinions of the International Court of Justice, and earlier resolutions of the UN Assembly itself. The Trusteeship Committee required that South Africa revoke all apartheid laws that applied in South West Africa and it appointed a seven-nation committee to investigate conditions. In 1960 Liberia and Ethiopia applied to the International Court of Justice at The Hague, the World Court, for binding judgment against South Africa.

The South African government invited the chairman and secretary of the seven-nation committee, Victorio Carpio of the Philippines and Dr Martinez de Alva of Mexico respectively, to visit the territory. They arrived in 1962 and while they were in South Africa they issued a report favourable to it. After leaving the country they brought out another report affirming that apartheid was being rigorously enforced in South West Africa and stating that South Africa did not intend to abandon its policies, and was not preparing the people of South West Africa for independence. Carpio repudiated the first report. At the time, Carpio and De Alva lost credibility, not only because the two reports seemed contradictory, but also because the South West African case was sub judice at The Hague. However, with the publication of the Odendaal Report in 1964, the substance of the second report was proved correct. In 1962 the World Court decided that it had the power to judge the case and it rejected the South African argument that the plaintiffs, Ethiopia and Liberia, had no standing. The plaintiffs argued that the franchise in South West Africa was restricted to Whites. They said that inadequate educational facilities were provided and that the inhabitants had to use travel passes.

They observed that political party and trade union membership had been banned, that the inhabitants were kept racially segregated, that certain jobs were reserved for Whites, that Blacks were excluded from the right to own landed property over large areas of the territory and that the administrator of the territory could force deportation of individuals without right of appeal. The case dragged on for six years, during which time one judge died and a successor with different views was appointed who rejected the legal standing of Ethiopia and Liberia. South Africa narrowly won the case by eight votes to seven. This strengthened the determination of members of the UN General Assembly to end South Africa's mandate over the territory and to place it under UN control. Rising political consciousness in South West Africa resulted in the formation of Black political parties. The South West African National Union (SWANU) was founded in 1962 and was active in central South West Africa for a time. Other small parties developed in the south. Toivo ya Toivo and Sam Nujoma transformed the Ovamboland People's Organization (OPO) into the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) in 1960 and began training a guerrilla army.

SWAPO gained the sympathy of the Black African states and through them the UN, resulting in the resolution of the UN Security Council that banned the sale of arms to South Africa. During 1966 SWAPO’s first military action took place in Ovamboland. Two years later SWAPO members were convicted in the Pretoria terrorism trial and their leader, Toivo ya Toivo, was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment. This changed South Africa's political approach to a policy of separate development. In 1964 the Report of the Commission of Enquiry, which had been prepared in close collaboration with Dr H F Verwoerd , recommended that South West Africa be partitioned. The 1968 the Development of Self-Government for Native Nations in South West Africa Act laid the foundations for homelands. As in South Africa bantustans, later known as homelands, were defined for the various Black, Khoi, San and Damara communities. More than 50% of the land was to be reserved as a homeland for the White minority. This included most of the territory's mineral wealth and agricultural potential, and was ultimately to be absorbed into South Africa.

This scheme was furthered when the South West Africa Affairs Act of 1969 transferred many powers from the Territorial Assembly in Namibia to the South African Assembly. Lack of Black support in Namibia for these plans, especially in SWAPO-supporting territory, was demonstrated in 1973 by the very small poll in the elections for Ovamboland's so-called ‘self-government'. In 1967 the UN Council for South West Africa was established, and subsequently renamed the Council for Namibia. Prodded by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) international pressure mounted against South Africa. The UN again tried unsuccessfully to take over the administration of the territory in 1967, and two years later passed a resolution that South Africa should terminate its administration over South West Africa. South Africa ignored this and took the administration of the territory under direct rule in 1969. Although the UN Security Council endorsed the termination of South Africa's mandate with a declaration that South Africa was an illegal occupier of Namibia (Resolution 276), and although it requested sanctions against South Africa (Resolution 283), it was unable to do anything about it.

It therefore asked the World Court for an advisory opinion on the consequences of South Africa's occupation. In 1971 the World Court advised that South Africa's presence in South West Africa was unlawful. South Africa held that it was not bound by the advisory opinion of the World Court. A visit to South Africa and Namibia in March 1971 by, the Secretary General of the UN, Dr Kurt Waldheim, ended in a deadlock with Prime Minister Vorster . Further attempts to negotiate a solution to the dispute failed. To pursue their policy of partitioning the territory into a series of ‘independent' ethnic states the South African Parliament passed the ‘Development of Self-Government for Native Nations in South West Africa Amendment Act' in 1973. This provided for ‘self-government' in Ovamboland and East Caprivi. The UN responded by recognising SWAPO as the only lawful representative of the population of Namibia. During the next two years South Africa deployed a large police and military force to the territory to protect White farmers in outlying areas from terrorist attacks, and to protect Blacks who had not joined SWAPO from intimidation. South Africa persisted in extending apartheid to Namibia in the face of all international opposition.

With the collapse of Portuguese rule in Mozambique South Africa's position was weakened on its eastern borders because Mozambique was taken over by the Marxist-oriented Frelimo regime. UN pressure increased. The Security Council threatened South Africa with expulsion if it did not recognise the territorial and national integrity of Namibia by withdrawing South African administration. While seeking to protect White interests, security and law and order, South Africa attempted to placate international criticism in an attempt to prevent a communist-backed SWAPO government from coming to power in Namibia. It changed its policy of partition and sought to establish a federation of Black states in Namibia. The South African government hoped this would meet UN demands for the preservation of the national integrity of Namibians, while allowing Whites to retain control over the greater part of its resources. To bring this plan to fruition representatives of the various ethnic regions met at the Windhoek Turnhalle in September 1975 to work out a federal constitution based on ethnic states. Some of the social aspects of apartheid were abandoned. SWAPO and the UN rejected it.

In 1976 the South African Government stalled on giving Namibia unilateral independence because the Zimbabwe election, where Robert Mugabe's radical ZANU party won a resounding victory, had alerted South Africa to the likelihood of SWAPO sweeping to victory in Namibia. Mutual differences led to the collapse of the settlement attempt and arrangements for the elections were delayed under a variety of pretexts. The prolonged stalemate led to the establishment of an interim government, but the South African Government held back on pushing the territory into unilateral independence, maintaining it would allow UN-sponsored elections once agreement could be reached on the details. In the meantime SWAPO stepped up its guerrilla activity and its political support in Namibia expanded. By 1981 a drastic economic downturn had occurred in Namibia. A general world depression had affected the prices of Namibia's chief exports, diamonds, karakul, copper, and uranium. Drought and terrorism had crippled cattle ranchers, and the fishing industry was at low ebb, due to over-fishing during the 1970s. Whites began leaving Namibia in increasing numbers.

South Africa, equally hard-pressed, was finding Namibia less profitable and its Namibian subsidies and defence of that country were heavy burdens. Friction developed between the Administrator-General of the Territory appointed by the South African Government and ministers of the interim government, which collapsed in 1983 with the resignation of Chairman, Mr Dirk Mudge and the Council of Ministers. Direct South African rule through the Administrator-General was re-imposed. South African troops repeatedly attacked SWAPO bases in Angola and openly supported Jonas Savimbi's guerrilla struggle against the Angolan MPLA, causing the MPLA to call for more support from the Cuban troops. By 1983 as many as 20 000 South African soldiers were stationed in Namibia to combat SWAPO's guerrilla forces. Cross-border raids continued until a massive invasion by South African forces into Angola saw South Africans occupying wide areas of the southern part of the country. Both sides gained breathing space when an agreement was reached in Lusaka. The MPLA Government agreed that South African troops would withdraw from Angola and stop supporting UNITA, while the Angolan authorities would prevent SWAPO establishing bases on their territory.

The Angolan authorities were unable to eliminate the SWAPO bases and South Africa did not complete its withdrawal. During the Carter regime relations between the United States of America (USA) and South Africa deteriorated. The Reagan administration supported South Africa in its insistence that Cuba withdraw as a precondition for any settlement that would permit UN-sponsored elections in Namibia. In 1985 a new grouping of anti-SWAPO parties was formed and the idea of a Multiparty Conference (MPC) to form a transitional government was put forward. There was still no sign of a withdrawal of South African troops from the territory for fear that a SWAPO-dominated government, backed by Communists would be installed. In 1987 and 1988 South Africa increased the number of troops sent to the border and stepped up attacks against SWAPO fighters in Angola. At the end of the decade, Namibia's future remained unresolved. A Joint Commission, instituted in 1988 supervised the implementation of UN Resolution 435 for the independence of Namibia and monitored Namibian/Angolan peace initiatives. Independence was achieved after negotiations were conducted between South Africa, Western powers, the UN and the South West African Peoples' Organization (SWAPO).

The settlement was signed in New York in December 1988. The New York agreement led in turn to the Namibian independence election in which democratic principles had been inserted into the independence process by the Western powers. SWAPO won 57% of the votes, but as this was not an absolute majority, other parties also took part in the drafting of the constitution. It contained, in the words of Professor Gerhard Erasmus of Stellenbosch University, “a remarkable set of finely tuned checks and balances on the exercise of power”. Six parliamentary opposition parties were supported by 43% of the electorate. In 1991 national reconciliation was still the watchword, capital was still largely White-controlled, and the fishing and uranium industries had taken a downturn. South Africa cut its subsidies and totted up a bill of R700-million, which it said Namibia must pay. At that stage it was still withholding Walvis Bay, Namibia's trade lifeline, but, by 1994, the city had been returned to Namibia. By then South Africa, led by Nelson Mandela 's Government of National Unity, and the SWAPO Government had embarked on a policy of national reconciliation.

SWAPO, having adopted a policy of caution concerning economic and social reform, was proving Namibia to be one of the most democratic states in Africa. References: century including German South West Africa now known as - SOCL - 2001 View Full Document century including German South-West Africa now known as present-day Namibia, Kamerun now known as present-day Cameroon, Togoland now known as present-day Togo and German East Africa now known as present-day Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. The rulers of German South West Africa carried out a program of genocide against the aboriginal Herero people. The horrors of the shark island death camp were regarded as the world's first extermination camp. Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler was well known for eugenics programs which attempted to maintain a pure German race through a series of programs that ran under the banner of racial hygiene. Certain people were deemed genetically inferior and were targeted for elimination from the gene pool through sterilization or wholesale murder. This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version.

View Full Document Brian Chu Friday, March 23, 2012 Page 2 Among other activities, the Nazis performed extensive experimentation on live human beings to test their genetic theories, ranging from simple measurement of physical characteristics to the research using human genetic material. During the 1930s and 1940s, the Nazi regime forcibly sterilized hundreds of thousands of people whom they viewed as mentally and physically unfit. The Nazis went further by killing tens of thousands of the institutionalized disabled through compulsory euthanasia programs. The This is the end of the preview. Sign up to access the rest of the document. TERM Brian Chu Wednesday, March 28, 2012 Page 1 MY_COURSES /2012SPRINGSOCL200123361 /FORUM SOCL_2001_03_28_2012_1_02_PM_Exam_2_Grades_Up_News_Forum

Question: By what name is South West Africa now known
Answer: Namibia